Placing a Baby for Adoption in Missouri During the Holidays
Putting a child up for adoption during the holidays can seem scary, which is why Adoption Choices of Missouri is here to make sure that the adoption process is as easy as possible. However, the adoption process doesn’t change during the holiday season, and we have different resources available to help you cope during this time.
Think of Placing Your Baby for Adoption as a Gift
When you make the decision to give a baby up for adoption, you are giving a family the gift of either starting or expanding their family. You are also giving your child the opportunity at a better life. Their adoptive parents may be able to give them a lifestyle or the love and attention you can’t give them right now. And that is okay. You are also giving yourself the gift of knowing that your child will be raised by people who will love and care for them. Placing your child allows you to pursue an education, advance professionally, or better care for the kid(s) you may already have. Thinking of adoption as a gift allows you to think of the positives rather than the negatives of adoption.
Is the Adoption Process Different During the Holidays?
Fortunately, the adoption process does not change during the holidays. It is the same process 365 days a year. The adoption process is a process that details your Missouri adoption plan, which then leads to your specific adoption plan. An adoption plan is your plan for adoption that includes everything from who you would like to adopt your baby to and what kind of adoption you would like.
One of the best parts about adoption now is that you can pick your child’s adoptive family. Our adoption facilitators provide you with a list of prospective family profiles, and you choose the family you think best aligns with your values. When choosing an adoptive family, think about details like what kind of lifestyle you want your child to lead and what kind of parents you want them to have. If you do not like the families, we show you. We will give you more profiles; we want you to make the best decision you possibly can for yourself and your baby. This includes not rushing you through this process. After you choose your child’s adoptive family, you have to decide on the kind of adoption you would like.
The 3 Types of Adoption in Missouri
There are three main types of adoption in Missouri— closed, semi-open, and open. Closed adoptions involve no communication whatsoever between you and the adoptive family. Your medical history is the only information they and your child will receive about you. In a semi-open adoption, all communication between you and your adoptive parents is mediated through an adoption facilitator. Open adoptions involve open communication between you and your child’s adoptive parents. Open adoptions are great if you want to maintain contact with your child during their life. You can decide on the frequency and type of communication you would like.
Some birth mothers are able to maintain an active role in their child’s life despite adoption. You can celebrate holidays and birthdays with your child and their adoptive family. The holidays are a great opportunity for you to spend some additional time with your child and their adoptive family. Open adoptions allow you to possibly spend Christmas, the New Year, or both with your child.
Finding the Supportive Counseling During the Holidays
In addition to all of the other services we supply, we also provide our birth mothers supportive counseling as part of their adoption plan. We provide three main types of supportive counseling services: one-on-one, group, and birth mother retreats. Each type of counseling is designed to provide you with a different experience and meet a different need. One-on-one counseling is great if you desire some privacy in your counseling sessions. You can express your fears and concerns regarding adoption in a safe and secure environment. Group counseling allows you to discuss your feelings and concerns with other birth mothers who are going through or have gone through a similar experience. Birth mother retreats allow you to “retreat” from your day-to-day life and really focus on what it is that you are feeling.
Placing your child up for adoption during the holidays can be difficult, but with the resources available to you from Adoption Choices of Missouri, you will be able to navigate this journey more easily. Our adoption counselors are readily available to help you with anything you may need during this trying time.
Adoption Choices of Missouri serves birth parents statewide and beyond, please call us or text us to learn more! Call us toll-free at 877-903-4488 or, in Missouri call or text us at 816-527-9800
Meet the Author: Rayna Batiste is an alumna of the University of West Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. Having graduated with honors, she hopes to attend graduate school at New York University, majoring in Journalism. Rayna is also a United States Air Force veteran who enjoys watching documentaries about pretty much any subject, learning, and spending quality time with her family and friends. She is also a fitness enthusiast and an avid Peloton user.
Her hobbies include brunch (yes, brunch is a hobby), fashion, makeup, and of course, reading and writing. Rayna has a real passion for the written word and correct grammar and syntax. She enjoys manipulating sentence structure and experimenting with punctuation in her writing. She’s what you would call a “werd nerd.” She was also recently featured at the Pensacola Museum of Art for her work, entitled Triangular Geometry.